4505 special at the Thursday FB market - that day was fried bologna with bacon and the first time I couldn't finish (I had Teresa act as notary before I even took a bite); In-N-Out

Banana cream pie from Nation's is so perfectly imperfect - beats fancy versions any day. Fresh strawberry mochi from Benkyodo, bun sampler from Sandbox, and finally tried the popular Kika's.

Post-Intermezzo Strada: cup of nostalgia while doing the Daily Cal crossword. This was the first time I had non-third-wave-coffee in a really long time, and it made me appreciate good coffee that much more. I've been finding myself in SOMA quite often lately, meaning many a visit to Sightglass. Btw, Blue Bottle is going downhill and I had a watery cap with weak foam at Four Barrel yesterday. No one is immune, no one is the best!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Somehow I found myself nhau-ing just about every night I was in Saigon. "You must've been hanging with a lot of dudes" my friend assumed, and right he was! I was unaware of the social significance of this primarily male custom at the time, but I found this interesting article through the interwebs. That might explain the stares, actually. Onward!

It took some getting used to the giant blocks of ice in my Tiger beer, let alone the fact that they kept giving me (and only me) straws. I guess it's the feminine way to nhau

Duck tongue and curried frog legs at Xua va Nay in Saigon

Clams with lemongrass

Some non-nhau food in Vietnam:

Before and after - the tail was a hot commodity

Bun cha in Hanoi

Cha ca la vong in Hanoi

Wraps and rice noodles (can't remember the names of anything - I'm terrible I know) at Quan An Ngon in Saigon

Monday, August 15, 2011

I pretty much love all things curry, so it's no surprise that I love the Malay influences in Singaporean cuisine. There isn't much available in the bay area, so I was super excited to eat my way around town and finally have the real thing! Time was limited so I wasn't able to try much actual Malay or Peranakan cuisine, but I definitely had some delicious local food!

Murtabak at Zam Zam, quite possibly one of the most delicious things I tried in Asia

Roti stuffed with meat and served with curry sauce. How can that ever be a bad thing?

Laksa at Maxwell (L) and at a food market around Clarke Quay (R). Did not get a chance to try the OG katong laksa unfortunately

Stingray, satay, and fried oyster pancake (better than the Taiwanese kind I thought) at Chomp Chomp

Maxwell hawker center

Rojak (Maxwell) and popiah (Newton)

The most delicious black pepper crab from First Grade Seafood Palace

The damage

The ubiquitous sugar cane drink at Chomp Chomp; a kalamansi limeade from Mr. Prata (don't remember what it was called)